Beyond The Last of Us
by thelastofusofficial
Summary: After Joel and Ellie reach the dam, they would expect to live a somewhat normal life, although, this apocalyptic world isn't done with them yet.
1. Beyond The Last of Us

_**Beyond The Last of Us**_

"Okay." The words burned across Ellie's lips, leaving a trace of disgust in her stomach. She knew he was lying. Even though Joel spoke his words with confidence, the silence strayed far too long. Joel shifted, and stood for a second. He spoke first, ending the silence.

"We should get goin'." He mentioned, turning around and started to walk slowly towards the dam entrance. Ellie couldn't give a care in the world on whether she died that second. She just thought to herself about what truly happened at Salt Lake.

_'What really happened?'_ She thought. She moved past Joel, not speaking a word, guiding her own route to the dam's entrance.

Ellie shot up, hopping off from the sofa, frightened and screaming. She'd had another nightmare, which wasn't a surprise. She'd been having nightmares for the past two weeks, night after night, since she had arrived at Tommy's. It had only gotten worse as time went by. Her body was aching from a couple of bruises she'd earned herself a while back while she laid on the floor_. _She got up & managed her way to the bedroom, where Joel usually slept, as shines of light ran through the window, warm against her skin, the early rays of twilight from the sun. Ellie had her own cabin, and it wasn't even very far from Joel's cabin, but since the winter, she wasn't able to leave Joel's side. Now, he was the only person she trusted with her life, knowing that he could keep her from the rest of the evil of the world. She opened up the bedroom door, and too her surprise Joel wasn't there, lying in his bed.

'_Fuck, fuck, where'd he go?' _She thought. Usually after her daily nightmares, she'd wake up pretty early, and would have to crawl into bed with Joel, where she'd feel safest.

"Um… I better go look for him, right? Right_."_ The last time Ellie was here, months ago, a couple hunters attacked. It'd be best to make sure the village was still okay, to make sure Joel was okay at made a quick jog to her sofa and grabbed her knife from underneath the cushion, along with her pistol. Checking her magazine, she was dissatisfied with little ammunition she had left.

'_Great, four bullets. Hopefully I won't need them.'_

The town itself was pretty great. The past two weeks, she hadn't heard from a clicker, runner, stalker, or bloater. No recent attacks or signs of hunters. Maybe the fact that things were so quiet bothered her a little. Last year, she'd been with Joel, on the outside, defending or attacking, scavenging or shooting. She missed it sometimes, although the thought of missing that type of life was absurd.

She decided to check around the town kitchen, an old restaurant. It seemed to be the most vibrant place in the town, the area that came most to life during the day. It was barely morning though right now, so she expected no one there, if not Joel. She walked through the restaurant door, and saw the old man sitting on a stool, against the counter. He seemed to be thinking about something.

"Hey, Joel." Ellie said, yawning, and smiling in a sign of relief.

'_At least he's okay.'_

Joel almost fell out of his chair. He didn't really expect anyone to accompany him, so her voice kind of caught him off guard. He turned and sighed, to his relief it was just Ellie.

"Mornin' Kiddo, you sleep well?" Joel's voice was gruff, and low, the voice of a loved one to Ellie. She loved it.

"Yeah, I did." She lied, yawning mid-sentence, and then recovered herself. "You?"

"Same as always." Joel replied, wiping his eyes.

"Why are you up so early? Had me worried there was an attack or something." Ellie said, roughly exhaling.

Joel let out a small chuckle, leaving a small smile on his face. "Woke up a bit too early…" He said, distantly, leaving a silence in-between them for a while, while he stared into nothingness, his thoughts taking him over. He finally came back to reality, "Figured I'd get some fresh air." He sighed, looking at Ellie's clothing, "You plan on changing?"

They were dirty, worn out, and torn, the same grey cameo shirt and a long shirt underneath, tied in with some jeans, covered in an infected's blood. Ellie had clean clothes, but never got to changing or washing them the ones she was wearing already. She always seemed to be distracted by something about Jackson, or meeting someone new at the village.

"Yeah, I guess I can today."

"Well, okay." Joel said, pulling up a grin. Whenever Joel smiled, Ellie couldn't help but smile also, the muscles in her cheeks tugging upwards, forcing a smile.

"Well, I-I'll see you around." Ellie said, softly.

"Okay," Joel replied, "Be safe. Don't go on the outside 'til a couple hours from now, 'til everyone's up."

"Of course, I wouldn't do such a thing." Ellie laughed, pulling out the best mischievous grin she could manage, and proceeded outside, leaving the old man in his former peace.

She stared at all the tall trees surrounding the town, and a fresh smell of pine hit her nose. She smiled, looking around, seeing the guards in their towers, and aged buildings. The old mechanic shop was where the town trader settled, and the restaurant being the town's kitchen. The only thing that was re-turned to its former use was the old school building. Watch towers were spaced all around the city, a placement guard for each one. Every few hours, volunteers or people who were assigned would switch to their time on watch duty. Great thing about this place was there was no curfew. If she wanted to be alone, she could always go outside, within visible distance of the guards, or wait until midnight, when usually most people weren't up, and she'd have the entirety of the town to her lonesome.

'_So many great things to do.' _She thought to herself. Ellie looked around the city, vast, and open, still early morning, and very few people wandering around. She'd see some strangers walking about the pathways of the village, people she had never met. They all smiled her way, and she smiled back, faking it, still not feeling comfortable enough to call this place home, or trust very much of the people around it. Even though Ellie had confronted most of the residents, or they'd confronted her, she still didn't trust anyone as much as she trusted Joel, Tommy, or Maria.

She yawned, and sighed, looking at the town's clock, a tall building that was near precise to current time, it reading 5:43.

'_I guess I'll just head back to bed.' _She thought to herself, while she began jogging back to Joel's cabin.

Ellie awoke again to the sounds of the outside, people talking, footsteps against the stone concrete crushing the leaves that were painting the ground, some people even laughing. Laughter was still an adjustment she needed to get used too. She laughed rarely since the winter, and even she knew she kind of lost her old personality. Maybe this place can rekindle her past self. She peered through the window to the same old thing she'd seen every morning; everyone was heading to the town kitchen for some breakfast. Ellie's stomach groaned loudly and she wrapped her arms around her body to contain the sound, starved, feeling empty inside.

'_I guess I'll go too.' _She thought while putting her pistol back under the sofa. She held her military knife in her hand, staring at it, the bright titanium metal gleaming against the rays of the sun, her clear reflection glowing off of the blade's thin structure, the knife that once used to be her mother's, passed down to her.

'_I'll take you with me, just in case.' _She thought, retracting the blade back and shoving it into her back pocket, grabbing her backpack by a force of habit, and running out of the cabin.

It wasn't that early in the day, actually. According to the town clock, it was 8:24, but it seemed like it was almost mid-day, the bright sun's heat hanging over Ellie's neck like a blowtorch. She looked around the city. Some people were at the traders, a group of kids her age all being led by the towns teacher. That's right, the town had a teacher. She taught everyone about the world before, technology, Jackson, the village and its founders, although Ellie didn't really want to know any of that type of stuff. It was basically torture, knowing how everyone before got to own happy lives, lead businesses, play video games. The closest she's ever gotten to playing a video game was imagining one. But that was around a year ago, with her friend Riley, and even that experience was amazing.

Ellie reached the town kitchen, and pulled open the door, and as soon as she did so, an uproar of conversations flared in her ears. The kitchen was loud, conversations about almost anything. Ellie overheard some men talking about how they missed the taste of fresh steak. What a luxury that must have been.

"Ellie!"

The shout came as a surprise and Ellie shivered, moving quickly, reaching for her back pocket, feeling the outline of her military knife. She shifted herself in the direction of the noise, but it was just Tommy, shouting from across a couple of seats, only thing in-between was some loud men, and tables. He was sitting with Joel and Maria, waving his hand for her to come over. She sighed in relief, every shout for her name reminded her of Joel in distress calling for help, another day on the outside, surviving, being attacked by either infected, Fireflies, or hunters. She dismissed the odd thought, jogged over, and sat down by Joel.

"How you doin', little lady?" Tommy said with a friendly grin.

"I'm good." said Ellie, returning back the sincerity with a small smile.

Joel pushed his plate over to Ellie, "I'm done, don't really feel like eating anymore, here you go kiddo'." Joel sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Tommy, a minute? Scootch, Ellie."

Ellie's anger grew, mental streams of fire just overwhelming her from the inside until she'd explode in insanity. Not only until she just arrived did have he have to leave. She wanted to be with him, but every single chance she got since they got to the town, it seemed as if he had been avoiding her.

'_I have to help this guy, oh, I'm checking out the town, I'm gonna head outside, blah blah blah. Fuck you, Joel._

"Okay." Ellie sighed, releasing all of her anger in a waterfall of emotions, not knowing whether she was sad, angry, or fine. Joel and Tommy left the kitchen, leaving Ellie. She felt alone, although Maria was sitting right across from her.

Ellie hardly moved, statically sitting with the same unemotional face, and after a while, Maria caught the hint.

"What's wrong, Ellie? You've hardly touched your food. Somethin' on your mind?"

The silence stirred on.

"Ellie?"

"Oh. Um, no, I'm fine Maria, but thank you. I guess I just feel a little… upset." She emphasized the word upset more than any other.

"Upset, huh?" Maria said. "Why's that?"

"I feel like Joel is avoiding me."

Maria frowned, Ellie's response catching her off guard.

"Why do you think that, sweetie?"

"I-It's nothing, Maria, honestly, it's… it's probably just me." Ellie said quickly, sharply cutting at Maria's response, leaving no silence in between their words. It was lie and the truth at the same time.

'_Maybe I'm overreacting.'_

She'd only thought that because she'd never wanted Joel's attention so much until after the winter. Since then, Joel had seemed like a father too her, being that she's never known her own.

"Don't worry." Maria said, smiling. Ellie couldn't tell whether Maria's smile was forced or not. "Joel and Tommy probably went to go talk about that supply run they're planning on."

Ellie's face shifted, from upset to confused, and her intestines squeezed into knots. Maria's words made Ellie feel like she was shot with a ice bullet in the stomach.

"…Supply Run?"

"Joel hasn't told you?"

Ellie's expression was questioning. "What supply run?"

Maria paused, wondering if she should tell anymore, or whether it was right too. Her blue eyes were clouded with distraught, and Ellie's eyes were fogging up with anger, confusion, and sadness all at once.

"Tommy and Joel, a couple others also, planned on running a supply run on the outside too clear the area of hunters, or do some hunting, and catch the town some food."

Ellie's muscles tightened.

'_Clear the area of hunters…?'_

'_Why wouldn't he tell me?'_

'_What, he thinks I wouldn't care? That he can just walk out the gate and tell someone to let me know he said goodbye?'_

Ellie knew the danger of hunters. Joel was strong, and hunters were nothing to him, but still, she was always by his side in dangerous situations, and he was by hers.

"Oh. That's… Cool." Ellie said, exaggerating each word more with anger and frustration.

Maria's concern was getting stronger. "How are you feelin', sweetie?"

Ellie tried her best to calm down, not knowing what to do or say. After a while, Ellie spoke up.

"I'm fine. I gotta get going, I-I have stuff to do. I'll see ya around, Maria." Ellie said in a soft tone.

Maria's blue eyes were filled with care and sincerity.

"Okay, Ellie, be careful-" Maria stopped talking mid-sentence. Ellie was already walking away.

Ellie stepped outside, looking around. She looked around her, oak trees surrounding the outside, just beyond the watchtowers. Once again, a fresh smell of pine hit her nose. She sighed, not knowing what to think. She slowly moved her feet, taking a step forward, pacing back and forth.

'_This isn't helping.'_ She told herself. She started walking, not knowing where she wanted to go. She just walked, trying to calm herself down. A voice from what seemed as if it came out of nowhere sounded off.

"Hey, Ellie!" Someone exclaimed. Ellie stopped in her trace, and turned around. Veronica, a girl a bit younger than her was sitting on a bench, waving for her to come over. Ellie's emotions washed away, completely forgetting about the entire supply run situation for a while. Ellie ran over and gathered with Veronica.

"Hey, Veronica." Ellie said with a small grin. Even though Veronica and her had only known each other for two weeks, they'd become somewhat friends, basically the one of the people Ellie didn't really mind to be around, and they'd even gotten into a bit of trouble together. Veronica was thirteen, two years younger than Ellie.

"Whatcha up too?" Veronica smiled.

"Nerthin'." Ellie said, with a small grin.

Veronica chuckled, and pulled up a wider grin. "Mind if I walk with you, friend?" Veronica said.

"Don't see why not." Ellie sighed.

"So, we've gotten into some shit." Veronica said, in an upbeat tone.

"Yeah, we have." Ellie replied, laughing mid-sentence, which brought up a small smile on Veronica's bright expression.

"Although, I haven't really gotten to know you, besides for the fact that I know your name."

"Any questions?" Ellie asked. "You curious? Shoot." Ellie said, smiling.

"Well, how old are you and when's your birthday?"

"I'm fifteen, my birthday's in June."

"How'd ya get here, Ellie?"

"I got here with Joel, Tommy's brother, two weeks ago."

Veronica laughed. "You didn't tell me your dad is the brother of the camp leader! That makes you a big shot around here." Veronica grinned mischievously.

"We're not... Joel isn't… I'm not Joel's daughter." Ellie had gotten that a lot, and it always made her upset. She knew Joel loved her, and protected her with her life, but she felt like a replacement to Sarah sometimes.

"Oh, sorry." Veronica said quietly.

"I-It's fine… Anything else?" Ellie pulled up a fake smile to further convince Veronica not to worry about the accusation.

"Well… Um… What'd you do before you got here?"

Ellie froze in her footsteps, her face going blank, flashing back to a memory from a year ago.


	2. Memories

_**Memories**_

"Got you, asshole!" shouted a hunter, bashing open a door, kicking back Joel, pushing him against the rim of a ledge, overhanging a great fall onto some rock and brick debris.

'_What do I do, what do I do, fuck, fuck!' _She couldn't find her knife. She was attacked by a hunter seconds earlier, and she left it right in his stomach, right when she heard Joel in trouble.

'_Get the knife!' _Ellie ran back, adrenaline coursing through her body, but by then, it was too late. She heard something break, and a shout. She ran over, knife in hand, seeing that the ledge was broken, where Joel was a second earlier. She looked down, only to see that Joel was twenty feet below her, they hunter lay beside him, dead, blood covering the layout of the ground. It was only a millisecond later did she realize that the blood she saw on the ground wasn't the hunters, it was his.

"Oh, shit." Joel said quietly to himself. Ellie put away the knife and began to climb down.

"Oh, man…" Ellie said, hoping that everything will be okay. She jumped down, and ran over to Joel, the old man lying on the floor, rebar stabbed through his body and clothing.

"Wh-What do you want me to do?"

"Move…"

'_Move? What's he talking about? He knows he's dying here, right?'_

"What?" Ellie said, confusion painting her words.

"Move!" Joel said sharply, pushing Ellie on the floor. The old man sat up as far as he could, with his revolver in hand, while two hunters bashed through a previously locked door. Joel aimed for the hunter's head, and Joel's gun sounded off, one of them falling backwards, their head obliterated as red mist blew out the back of their head, covering the air. The kickback of the revolver pushed Joel back against the floor, he lay there lifeless, and exhausted, while the other hunter was coming for Ellie.

'_Fuck! The gun, grab the fucking gun!' _Ellie shot the other hunter in the throat, her muzzle lighting up with a flame of light. The hunter stumbled back, grasping from air, pushing his hand against the bullet wound in his throat, but to no prevail. He… died. It never got easy, killing someone. But Ellie couldn't think about that right now, Joel lay next to her, grunting, bleeding out while she just sat there, seconds going by.

"Oh man…" It was the only thing to say that came to Ellie's mind. "Joel?"

"Oh…" Ellie sighed sharply, thinking what to do, while Joel lay there, breathing in quick, sharp inhales.

"I'm gonna need you to pull." Joel said, trying to keep it together, the pain feeling fearsome, worse than a bullet wound, worse than anything he's ever felt.

"Okay." Ellie said, breathing heavily. "Alright, you ready? One, Two, Three!"

Joel screamed in pain, in agony, while Ellie lifted his body off of the bloodied rebar.

"Gahh! Pull!" Joel shouted at the best of his current abilities. She lifted his body off of the rusted metal, leaving an open hole through Joel's stomach, blood pouring out of him like water from a hose.

"Here..." Ellie offered her help, to support Joel so he could stand upright but he refused, pushing her away.

"Just get too the damn horse." Joel said, with his gruff voice, speaking shakily.

"Okay." Ellie said quickly, pulling out her gun and leading the way. "I don't see anyone. Let's go!" She exclaimed, running through the college hallway, into another room, looking back, realizing his hands were greased in his own blood, entirely covered, colored with red.

"Joel, how we doing?" Ellie asked, speaking in total fear.

"I'm fine… I'm fine." Joel said, blood still pouring out of him, a gun in one hand, and his other pressed against the open wound in his body, trying to conceal anymore blood from pouring out.

Ellie pushed over some planks, revealing a window leading into the next room. "Can you handle the window?"

"Yeah." Joel spoke hopefully, not knowing whether he could truly mount it or not.

"Okay." Ellie said, after she had hopped through the window, into the next room, one that looked like a chemistry lab. She held down the iron sights of her pistol at the next door, preparing for any hunter that'd pass through anytime soon. Joel put his hands on the window for support, and propped his leg on top of the edge of the window to climb over. His arms shook, not being able to carry the weight, and Joel fell forward through the window, onto the ground.

"Jesus. Come on, move!" Ellie exclaimed.

'_Don't you dare die on me Joel, you're the last person I have. Please. Please don't leave me.'_

She grabbed him by one arm and pushed him against a table, sitting down, while a hunter ran through the door.

"I see you." The hunter spoke up.

"Shit." Ellie groaned, transporting her fear into anger. A shot blew off, and the hunter's shotgun muzzle lit up with light, the bullets spreading across the room, over Joel and Ellie's heads.

"Come on, man…" The hunter uttered under his breath.

Ellie was angry. Angry that she couldn't save Joel in time. Angry that it's her fault Joel was hurt right now. It's because of her, that they're looking for the fireflies. It's her fault that they're at the college. Angry because another scavenger was trying to kill them.

"Alright, just stay here, I'm gonna flank this asshole." Ellie said, transporting that anger of hers into her words.

"Ellie." Joel said, holding out his hand for her too stop, but she couldn't let him die. She had to take that risk.

"Those were my friends you killed, asshole." The hunter indicated fiercely. "Come on out. You wanna do this the hard way?"

A shot sounded off, right into the hunter's shoulder, and the hunter flinched, turning in Ellie's direction.

"You little bitch!" The hunter shouted. Joel leaned out of cover and shot a bullet into the hunters back, and he flinched again, the next shot coming from Ellie, going right into the hunter's head. The hunter fell back onto some lab supplies, shattering glass and some other equipment, creating a loud sort of noise that would only attract more hunters. Ellie quickly ran back over to Joel, past the hunter's dead body, his blood and brain matter splattered up against the wall.

Joel tried to sit up, but to no outcome.

"Shit." Joel breathed out the words, with little breath he had left.

"Oh man. We gotta get you out of here." Ellie said.

"I'm okay." Joel said, barely being able to stand up, his blood leaking over the floor.

"You're not okay, Joel! Now come on!" Ellie grabbed Joel and forced him up onto his feet.

'_I don't want to lose anyone else… Please.' _

Joel leaned against more of the table for support, losing his balance every few seconds.

"Move it." Ellie shouted, her ahead of Joel, aiming her iron sights outside the door, checking for hunters. "There's no one here. Hurry." She said, trying to calm down, trying not to freak out. She wanted to be strong for Joel.

'_I got this. I got this.'_

They stepped out, glass cracking underneath their feet, a sign reading: North Hall.

"You're doing good, just keep at it." Ellie announced.

"I'm coming." Joel said roughly.

"Through these double doors." Ellie explained. Joel's body fell against a fallen over vending machine, his arm pressed on its edge.

"Oh man, here, lean on me." Ellie offered.

"No." Joel spoke up, after a quick silence.

"Well can you walk?" Ellie asked.

"Yes."

"Then fucking walk." Ellie said angrily. She knew Joel wasn't okay, and she was upset he wasn't taking any of the help she offered him.

"Come on." Ellie spoke up, the entrance right in front of them, just thirty feet away.

'_So close… Come on, so close.'_

"There's the exit. Just a little bit more, come on." Ellie said, fear filling her voice once more, realizing that Joel only got weaker by the second. Joel fell, losing his balance once more, pushing his hands against a nearby table to regain his balance. Ellie turned and saw Joel trembling, looking as if he were to pass out unconscious.

"Hey, hey!" She shouted. "Joel!" She saw Joel's eyes trailing up behind her.

'_What's he looking at?'_

"Behind you!" Joel croaked, trying to summon up the strength to aim his revolver. "Ellie!" He exclaimed, falling onto the ground, the revolver tumbling out of his reach.

Two hunters ran down a set of stairs overhanging the exit of the building, blocking the way.

"The kid's got a gun! Watch out!" One of the hunters pronounced to the other.

"Stay the fuck back!" She shouted, shooting off rounds blindly, trying to aim, but shooting in fear, a couple of the bullets luckily hitting one of them.

"Hey!" Ellie shouted at the other hunter to catch his attention. She held up her sights, aiming directly at the hunters head and pulled the trigger but her gun clicked.

"Oh shit, oh shit!" She said while dropping a clip out of the bottom of her gun, and grasping for another in her pocket.

"You little shit!" The hunter shouted, running towards her with a metal pipe. She got the magazine in her gun but by then, the hunter swung his pipe, Ellie's hands covering her face, and the pipe hitting her wrist. She fell on the ground, using her other hand to raise her pistol and shot the hunter in his chest, the hunter walking back slowly, and falling over.

'_Fuck, my wrist… Wait, Joel!'_

She had almost forgotten the person she loved was still lying on the ground beside her, bleeding more for every second that passed by.

"Joel." She groaned as she got up, pulling him up with her. "Here, stand up. Put your arm around me." Joel did as she said, and wrapped his arm around her body for support. "All right, let's go."

"I swear to God, I get you out of this, you're so singing for me." Ellie exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood in any way possible.

Joel chuckled, replying, "You wish…"

Ellie propped Joel up against more fallen debris, "Wait here, I'll get the door."

"Take your time." Joel quietly said.

Ellie opened the door, and Joel stood up straight, to the best of his abilities and tripped his way over. He pushed through another door that led outside, and he fell, rolling down some cobblestone steps. A hunter was in view, holding the reins to their horse, and witnessed Joel falling down the steps.

"What the fuck?" The hunter curiously thought out loud, and then realized it was Joel.

"Ah, Shit!" He shouts, reaching for his gun. Two shots burst through his chest and he falls aside the horse, shot by Ellie. She jogged over, bending over to pick up Joel.

"Come on." She says, holding out her hand for him to grab.

He pushes it away, "Just… get the horse."

"Alright…" She replies quickly and runs a couple feet over to grab the reins of the horse, pulling it over to Joel. Joel stands up and puts his hands on the side of the horse.

"Can you get on?" Ellie asks, hurryingly. Joel doesn't speak a word, gripping the saddle, and shifting up slowly, while Ellie climbed on after, behind him.

"Go." He says, whipping the reins, and the horse runs off.

Just a quarter mile away from the college, the area seems to be clear of hunters.

"I think we're safe." Ellie informs.

Joel begins to shift his body, slowly leaning to the right.

"Joel." Ellie said quickly.

Joel fell off the horse, his head slamming against the concrete, passing out unconscious.

"Ah, shit." Ellie says as she jumps off the horse, getting on her knees, crawling against Joel.

"Joel! Here…" She tried lifting Joel, but he was too heavy.

"Ah! Get up, get up, get up… You gotta tell me what to do!" Ellie gripped Joel by his shirt, staring at his blank face, his eyes closed.

'_Don't die on me!' _

"Come on… You gotta get up! Joel?"

"Ellie?"

"Elliieee?" Veronica stood still, looking at Ellie with a light sense of concern.

"Oh. Huh? What?"

"What happened? You've been standing there for like, a minute, and I've been trying to get your attention."

"I-I.. Oh, sorry. Just lost myself for a sec, I guess. What were you saying?"

"I asked what'd you do before you got here?"

Ellie sighed, and stood for a second, gathering all of her thoughts.

"I survived."


	3. Forsaken

_**Forsaken**_

"You gotta tell her sometime, Joel."

"Tommy, this is none of your damn business." Joel said, slightly raising his voice.

"That girl needs to know what happened at Salt Lake." Tommy indicated.

Joel knew he was right. He had kept the secret of Salt Lake for about two and a half weeks right about now. He lied too Ellie and he was sure she knew of it. He felt as if the whole situation was destroying a fragment of their trust, in sort of a way.

"I… I-I know. Listen, I just need more time. I'll get to it, okay?"

"Okay, but you need to hurry, before this whole lie strays far too long."

"Tommy, this ain't eas-"

Joel was cut off by the sound of Tommy's radio.

"Tommy, it's time for curfew. Go ring the bell, and get Bontempo and Gilman out on watch duty." It was Maria. Oddly enough, everyone called Tommy leader, only because he was married to Maria. Maria and her father were the one that had the idea of making this place their home, seld-sustained, actually. They set up with a couple of men at first, now the town has expanded to dozens of families. She was true leader of the village.

Tommy reached for his radio. "Got it Maria, I'll be home soon."

More static hissed over the radio and Maria replied once more. "I love you. Hurry on up now."

"Fast as I can. I love you too." Tommy replied with a small grin on his face, staring at radio for a small second, than looked back over at Joel, replacing the grin with a stern look. "Listen, Joel, we'll talk about thi-"

"No, we won't, Tommy. Stay out of this. This is between Ellie, and me." Joel said sharply, cutting Tommy off, mid-sentence.

Tommy sighed and paused for a second. The brief silence consisted of the sounds of the wind, rustling of leaves, and distant laughter back at the town kitchen.

"Okay, Joel." Tommy spoke up. "Do what you have to do." He headed off, jogging away towards the old chapel of the small city, the bell tower.

'_Damn it.' _Joel ran his hand through his hair stressfully, and headed off to his cabin.

Joel opened the door to see Ellie sitting on the couch staring at her pistol, and her military knife. She heard Joel come in, but didn't bother to look up.

"Hey, Joel."

"Hey." Joel replied, as he sat down in a chair. "So, ah, what'd you do today, kiddo'?

"Nothing."

"Really." Joel chuckled. "Nothing?"

"Yes. Nothing." Ellie said quietly, still not looking at him, avoiding eye contact. Her seriousness caught Joel slightly off guard.

"Oh. Ah, well, whatcha' doin' now?"

"Just sitting here." She voiced each word clearly, as if she expected this conversation, like she had practiced for it over and over again. She still made no eye contact with Joel, continuing to sit, focusing at the permanent scratches that affected her weapon.

"You seem pretty quiet." Joel announced. Ever since the winter, she hadn't really spoken up as often as she used too. She wasn't as talkative, or interactive. He didn't want to say anything specific about that though. He wasn't very keen on confrontation. Ellie didn't say anything for about a clear minute, the both of them just sitting there, Joel remaining impassive. Ellie finally broke the silence.

"I can help, you know." Ellie indicated fiercely, looking up at Joel, finally.

"What?"

"The Supply Run. I can help." Ellie said.

Joel sat up out of his chair. "How do you-"

"Maria told me."

It all caught Joel off-guard. He knew exactly what she was thinking. "I… Listen, Ellie, I didn't… I don't want you to worry." Joel said. "These types of things are dangerous, a-and"

"I worry, Joel! You can't expect me to be okay with it if you tell me at the last second!" Ellie shouted. She dropped her knife and weapon and shot up off the couch. All of the anger that built up was finally able to be released.

Joel stood up straight. His face grew upset. "You know what's out there."

"So do you! Last year all we did was survive! That was the life we lived and-"

"That was the life we lived! But that's not the life we live now. You can't live that anymore! Joel shouted.

Ellie was surprised. Her expression changed from rage to sadness, her eyes growing watery.  
"Don't leave me alone. Don't go."

Joel shifted, from upset to care. "That life that we had last year… that's not what I want for you. We suffered, each and every day. We were scared. That… T-that we'd go to sleep, and not wake up. If somethin' were to happen to you…"

Ellie understood. She knew what Joel was talking about. The life they lived last year was horrifying. They never knew what was going to happen, at any turn. Henry, Sam, Tess, Riley. Last year was terrifying, probably the worst Ellie's known. She didn't want to go back into it, as much as Joel didn't want her too, but she was just upset that Joel didn't even tell her. She would take the risk of going back out just to be beside Joel.

"This is so stupid." Ellie said, sitting back down to the couch. She put her feet up in front of her on the couch, sitting up straight, and wrapped her arms around her legs, looking up at the ceiling, a tear rolling down the side of her cheek. She looked back at Joel. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I…" Joel sat back down his chair. "I don't know."

"You can't dodge the inevitable, Joel." Ellie indicated. Another tear ran down her cheek, but she cracked a small smile.

"I… I know." Joel's facial expression filled with regret.

'_I shoulda' just told her.'_ He thought.

"Well, what am I supposed to do here?"

"I planned on having you sleep in Maria's cabin, if you needed someone. Tommy and I should be headin' out in the mornin'. Y'know, there are kids here your age too. Maybe, ah… maybe it won't be so bad. I thought maybe you'd try to get to know some of 'em."

"Yeah. I guess so." Ellie said after a silence. She wiped her away a tear rolling down her cheek, and stared back at her knife, the metal showing the reflection of just another tear roll down the side of her face. "Um. How long will you be gone?"

"A… a month."

"A month? Woah… Um, okay."

"Well, I reckon it'll be a month. Most likely, but ah, that's just a maybe. Might just be sooner."

"Yeah, no promises." Ellie sighed.

Joel sighed for a brief second. "Get your rest. I'm headin' out in the mornin'." Joel said, running his hand through his hair stressfully. The long silence strayed too long, and he decided to just go into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Ellie yawned and wiped her eyes again, another tear running down her cheek.

"Okay." She said to herself.

Ellie awoke to the sound of footsteps inside the cabin. She sat up and wiped her eyes, looking around the torn place. Their home's former kitchen was where they held their supplies, or their belongings. Joel was standing in front of one of the opened cabinets, pulling out his backpack and revolver. He put 6 bullets in the revolver, cocked back the hammer, and then settled it in his holster. He looked over and saw Ellie, looking over at him, looking sleep-deprived.

"Hey kiddo', you sleep well?" Joel said.

Well, she didn't have a nightmare, at least. So for once, she actually did sleep well, kind of, but she didn't have to lie.

"Yeah, I did." She replied, smiling. She held out her hand.

Joel smiled and walked over to Ellie, taking her hand and pulling her up onto her feet, off the couch.

"C'mon, put on some fresh clothes. I'll be outside, waitin'." Joel stated. He rotated, his back facing Ellie, and proceeded to walk outside the cabin.

Ellie strolled outside in a clean set of blue un-bloodied jeans, and a digital camouflaged long-sleeve over shirt.

Joel grinned. "You look good." He said in an upbeat tone.

"Why, thank you!" She said in an upbeat sarcastic tone. "Now bow to me, servant." She commanded, grinningly.

"Okay, that's enough. C'mon." Joel said as he smiled, turning and walking towards the town entrance, where Tommy and the others going with them were waiting to leave on their supply trip.

"What! You didn't bow!" Ellie voiced laughingly, jogging after Joel.

They reached the town gates, where Maria was inaudibly saying her goodbyes to Tommy. As they got closer, Ellie was able to hear what she was saying.

"Alright Tommy, be safe, okay? Stay close to Joel, and don't go anywhere alone." She gave him a peck on the lips.

"I know the drill, Maria. This ain't the first supply run I've been on, and it won't be the last." Tommy said, smiling. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips also.

"Okay, okay, I know." She said, looking worried.

"Hey," Joel said, looking at Ellie. "You gonna hold up well?"

Ellie smiled. "I'll try my best to be okay."

"Okay." Joel said, expressionless. "I'll.. I-I'll miss you." Joel spoke, and then tightly hugged Ellie.

Her emotions changed completely from that, from feeling okay to miserable.

"Let's go, Tommy." Joel voiced, taking out his revolver. Tommy nodded, and hugged Maria.

"I'll see you soon." Tommy said to Maria. "Let's go, boys!" Tommy shouted, riling up the men's spirits as he headed out the gate, Joel being the last to leave.

"Be careful, don't do nothin' reckless." Joel said.

"Don't go." Ellie blurted out, looking Joel in the eyes. She couldn't help herself. She just shot out the words. Joel frowned, and left a silence between them. It seemed a little like déjà-vu, when she said the same to Riley.

"Ellie, I-"

"I know, I know. I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that... I just… Be safe, please, Joel."

"I will-"

"Joel?" Tommy shouted from the outside.

"I'm comin'!" He turned and shouted, than looked back at Ellie. "I gotta go, baby girl. I'll be careful. I promise." Joel said, forcibly smiling.

"O-okay." Ellie said, a tear running down her cheek. Joel hugged her once more and walked outside the town gate, with it shutting behind him.

"Goodbye, Joel." Ellie said to herself.

The gate closed, and Joel was gone. Ellie stood still, as leaves rustled past beside her feet, while she stared at the gate doors.


End file.
